in to 2,050 ft. at
the great Corumba River, there 300 yards wide. We crossed this beautiful
stream--animals and all--on three canoes joined together, upon which a
platform had been built.

CHAPTER V

Travelling across Country--A Musical Genius--Valuable
Woods--Thermal Springs

AT the river were several picturesque two-wheeled carts waiting to be
ferried across. Drawn by ten, twenty, and even as many as thirty oxen,
these heavy hooded vehicles travelled across country in a most wonderful
manner. Naturally they had to be of solid construction to stand the wear
and tear demanded of them. Their wheels were heavy solid discs of hard
wood encircled by powerful tyres of iron. A primitive system of brake--a
mere bar of wood held in position by ropes--retarded the speed of the
vehicle down extra-steep declivities. When going up or down hill the
friction of the wheels upon their axles produced a continuous shrill
whistle, which, when heard from a distance, sounded not unlike the
whistle of a locomotive. In the deathly stillness of the Goyaz landscape
those whistles could be heard a long way off. The expectant
farmers--expectant, because those trading carts conveyed to them a good
deal of the food-stuff, salt, and other necessaries of life, as well as
the luxuries they could afford--were clever at recognizing the whistles
of the various carts, and they identified one special cart or another by
what they poetically called the "voice of the wheel" or the "song of
Goyaz."

There were some picturesque rapids just above the spot where we crossed
the Corumba River, which flowed in a tortuous channel with a general
direction of W.S.W.

To the east of our track, as we proceeded northward, stood a glorious
range of hills with magnificent grazing land extending for many miles. In
front of us to the north and N.N.E. towered a high plateau, the Serra de
Callos, also called, I believe, Serra do Cusuzeiro.

Still travelling up and down and across several streamlets, we reached at
sunset the Rio Boccagna (2,230 ft. above the sea level), which, soon
after passing the place where we crossed it, entered the large river
Bagri, winding its way through a gorgeous forest. We had passed during
the day really wonderful grazing land on either side of the track, but
principally to the east, between the north bank of the Corumba River and
Camp Mazagan. There were plenty of small streams in the hilly and
sometimes slightly wooded va